Parachutes, previously used as a means for transferring persons and equipment from an airship to the ground have in more recent times, been employed by sky diving sports persons in situations where an improved maneuverability is desired. Accordingly, new types of parachutes have been developed, the most common of which is a ram air parachute. This new improvement has changed the shape of the parachute canopy from an umbrella to an airfoil, e.g., a section of an airplane wing. The entire structure is made of fabric that can be collapsed and packed into a parachute bag that can be carried on the human body by means of a harness attach to the bag and strapped around the shoulders and legs of the wearer. The structure of the parachute canopy is similar to a plurality of tubes laid side-by-side. When this structure moves through the air a direction lengthwise of the tubes, they become inflated and the canopy looks like a floating mattress. By appropriate placement and sizing of the openings leading into the tubes and by closing the trailing ends of the tubes the structure is readily inflated to a reasonably stable airfoil. There is a well-known phenomenon of compressing air by means of a ram principle whereby a container or a tubular object can be passed through the air at a high velocity and it will cause the air to be compressed because of the friction between the air and the container or tubular object. This principle is employed in the present invention to inflate the parachute canopy. Various designs and improvements on such a parachute canopy have been patented, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,724,789; 3,749,337; 4,363,458; 4,470,567; 4,771,970; and 4,811,920. The present invention is intended to provide an improved design which is more maneuverable and less complex than the prior art designs.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved ram air inflated parachute. It is another object of this invention to provide such a parachute with an improved maneuverability. It is still another object of this invention to provide a simpler apparatus than any from the prior art. Still other objects will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows.